Careful with that stuff, vermillion is mostly mercury sulfide and not very good for you:
Hence the reason why it is so expensive.
Don’t worry though, I use it for official documents, not to lick when I am bored!
In Asia it has strong Taoist connections because of its use in Traditional Chinese Medicine as one of the ‘Alchemical Keys to Immortality’.
Some Tantric practitioners still use it because of its ability to ‘secure the essence’, and you can buy herbal preparations (for Skin or Emotional issues) where the Herbs have been impregnated with Cinnabar; though this is mostly Chinese and I have never seen it used thus in Japan.
It is also used in the highest class/value of lacquer-ware where its colour and historical value is most highly praised.
We had some pieces with it as the colourant but they were only used for the highest ranking Priests or Nobility. Honestly I could not see a huge difference between them and some of the other pieces we had.
1 Like